Colorless Sky
by FullMoon FairyTale
Summary: Suna, a young shinobi in training with a dark secret, wishes to enroll into the prestigious Uzumaki Academy, but what dark secrets await him there, and are his two new friends, Kasumi & Hibiki, really what they seem?
1. Awakened Dreams

The golden sun began to pour through mountains

The golden sun began to pour through mountains

Young Suna stretched out his arms lazily. "Best time of the day." He yawned happily. Suna was the youngest son of a quant little family in the village of Sand. At least, that is what he told everyone. The truth was, he was on his own.

His parents and two older brothers had been brutally slaughtered years ago, and no one ever dared bring it up. Suna, completely aware of his tragedy, continued his days peacefully, envisioning as if everything was okay.

The village elders and the great Kazekage Gaara worried about him greatly, but Suna was ecstatic, because today was the day that he and his sensei would be leaving Sand to enroll Suna into the prestigious Uzumaki Academy; Named after the Hokage of the same name.

Suna's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the pat of a hand on his shoulder. A tall, handsome, man stared back at Suna with a tender smile. "Ready to go Atsui-kun?" The man asked. "Hato-sensei, I told you, call me by my first name." Suna pouted slightly.

Hato smiled apologetically. "Sorry Suna-kun."

Suna smiled at his sensei. Hato-sensei had been one of the only people to ever show him kindness after his family's death, and because of that, Suna showed him nothing but respect.

"Well, we better head out then." Hato slipped his pack over his shoulders. "As usual, no goodbyes." Suna said dryly. Hato patted his head tenderly. "Where you'll be going, there will be nothing but kind people." Hato said, reassuring Suna a bit.

And with that, the two set off.

--

A few hours had passed, yet Suna was as energetic as ever. "How much longer?!" He jumped in excitement.

"We still have a ways to go, and the sun's already starting to set, we may need to set up camp here for the night." Hato explained, scanning the orange sky.

"Good evening fellow travelers!" came a husky voice from a distance. Suna and Hato turned to see three people. The one who had called to them was a tall broad looking man clad with a dark burgundy beard and mustache. The two with him, were a scrawny pale looking man, as well as a beautiful cerulean haired girl just about Suna's age.

"Same to you friends." Hato smiled warmly. "Where are you from?"

The burly one cleared his throat. "My colleague and I…" he gestured at the pale man. "Are from the land of Tea, we are hear on research." He broadened his chest proudly. "We are on our way to Uzumaki Academy, to interview some of the staff, for our monthly magazine: _Surely Shinobi_."

"That's where we are headed!" Suna chimed in enthusiastically. Hato stepped forward. "Yes, anyways, my name is Hato Chikuden, and this is my student." Hato patted Suna on the head. "The name's Suna Atsui and I'll be attending the Academy." He said, thrusting his thumb into his chest boastfully.

"That is…Assuming you pass the entrance exams." Said the cerulean haired girl.

Suna was a little taken aback by her sudden reply. "Watcha mean?" Suna asked dumbfounded.

The girl flipped her hair elegantly. "The only ones who get into the academy are ones who do well in the entrance exams. The entrance exams are battles that are between Shinobi and Kunoichi. The battles are picked at random, and the ones who show the most promise are asked to enlist into the academy."

Suna did not know this, but all the same, he was not going to let something like this discourage him. He would get into the academy, no matter what the costs. Anything that had been named in the great Hokage Naruto's honor, Suna would be there.

"My name is Shuuha!" the burly man screamed, breaking the awkward silence. "And my partner here is named Kouen." Shuuha grabbed the other man briskly, catching him off guard a bit. Everyone turned towards the girl.

"My name is Kasumi. Kasumi Nagoyaka." The girl smiled. "What relation do you have with these two men?" Hato asked politely. Kasumi shook her head. "I just recently met up with these kind met not too long ago." Kasumi's smile widened. "I told them that I was hoping to join the Uzumaki academy as well, and since they were already traveling that way, we decided to travel together."

Shuuha grasped Hato and Suna's shoulders suddenly. Suna was amazed at how fast he could move for being so…Gigantic. "You lads should come with us!" He said with a giant jolly grin.

Hato and Suna sighed nervously. "S-Sure." They said at the same time. Neither one dared to turn him down.

"Great, the more the merrier, we'll make an adventure out of it!" Shuuha grabbed everyone, forcing them all into a giant, uncomfortable group hug.

--

Suna's deep sleep was suddenly awakened by a rustling in the bushes. Suna looked around, but all he could see was the remnants of the party's fire, and the outlines of his travel company.

He chuckled slightly. He figured he had just woken up thanks to Shuuha's powerful grunt like snores.

Before he could even close his eyes completely, a shadow like figure erupted from the bushes. "W-Who's there?!" Suna's voice cracked slightly.

Suna's sudden outburst caused everyone to wake up with a startle. "Little brat!" hissed the voice. The shadow lunged at Suna fiercely, only to be blocked suddenly.

Suna opened his eyes to see Hato standing in front of him. "Suna, you're not hurt or anything are you?" "N-No!" Suna squeaked. The shadow backed away from Hato's grasp, relaying a storm of kunai knifes. Hato, in an instant, grabbed Suna by the stomach and lunged high into the air. "No bastards are gonna hurt my new friends!" Suna could hear Shuuha saying. Suna looked down to see Shuuha swinging an enormously large scythe around. Suna was amazed that Shuuha could even hold it up, let alone swing it around.

Shuuha, in a blind rage hurled the scythe towards the shadow, instantly chopping the body in two. Crimson blood sprayed around like fireworks and the shadow fell like a ton of bricks, the sound of rustling cloth as he went.

In between the excitement, three more shadow like Shinobi had burst from seemingly out of no where. Suna could see that the two men would be fine, and Hato was no pushover either, but what about that girl, would she be okay?

Suna looked around to see that the girl was no where in sight. Had she escaped? Had she been kidnapped?

Suna's eye caught the glare of one of the Shinobi's eyes as he passed him swiftly. He turned to see the Shinobi escape into the trees, he figured that must have been the way that the girl went. Meanwhile, more shadows seemed to pour out from nowhere.

The shadow that seemed to be the leader growled evilly. He pointed to one of the other shadows. "Go after that girl, we can't afford to let her get away, not when she has IT!!"

Suna, seeing the shadow follow the leader's orders, followed suit. He couldn't just stand there when he knew that that Kunoichi might get hurt. Blindly Suna groped through the pitch black trees. He had never felt more vulnerable, but he couldn't let another innocent life be taken again.

Wherever that girl was, Suna prayed that she would be able to hold her own before he got there.


	2. Echo in the Shadows

Cold perspiration dripped down Suna's face

Cold perspiration dripped down Suna's face.

He could do nothing but stare into the black abyss. The night had already been unusually dark and the shadows of the tall oak trees only made things worse. Suna gulped nervously; he and Hato had gone through numerous faces of training, but being blind was not one of them.

Every sound around him made his heart skip a few beats. The crack of a branch, the rustling of a bush, the call of a small animal, it all terrified him.

The only thing keeping him going was the shadow a few meters in front of him. He could sense the Shinobi's chakra flaring up in front of him, the feeling acting as his eyes.

After at least ten minutes of running, Suna heard the shadow stop. Apparently, he had cornered Nagoyaka-san. He was about to call out until he heard the shadow converse with another.

"Have you spotted her?" asked one. "No, I can barely see anything in this damn forest." The other replied furiously. "Here I'll take care of that"

Before Suna could move, he felt a hand cover his mouth and drag him onto the safe side of a tree trunk.

"Ha!!" the man screamed, setting the entire area aglow. Radiant flames danced around the trees lighting up the entire pasture, luckily Suna was hidden well enough.

He turned to see the girl staring back at him, clearly breathing heavily, but trying her best to stay as quiet as possible. "Oh thank god your alrig…" Suna started. Kasumi irritably placed her hand over his mouth again. "Do you have a death wish; they'll kill us for sure." She hissed in her quietest voice possible. The two men, clearly unable to see anything suspicious, disappeared in a flash to continue searching.

Kasumi slouched back in relief. "Phew, that was too close for comfort." She wiped her brow of sweat. Suna did so as well. "Why were they after you?" Suna asked, his forehead wrinkling in concern. "Why do you think they were AFTER me?" She responded defensively. Suna gave her an amused look.

Kasumi glared back with a mixture of irritation and embarrassment. She sighed in defeat after a few seconds; clearly Suna wasn't buying her façade. "I may have, borrowed something from a nearby camp…" She explained sheepishly. "I'll leave it at that for now." She added. Suna questioned her no more; clearly she wasn't going to budge on that one.

"Well apparently whoever you messed with, wasn't the right person to mess with." Suna mocked, holding in a giggle. "It wasn't there's to have in the first place, so they got what was coming to them!" She huffed. Suna admired her, he had always envisioned women as beautiful, yet frail creatures, like his mother, but this girl, Kasumi Nagoyaka-san, was quite different, and Suna liked it. Though he would be lying if he said it didn't scare him a little bit.

Suna's thoughts were interrupted by a tugging on his hand. "Come on airhead, we need to get the hell outta hear if we want to beat those Shinobi out of this forest!" Kasumi said, gesturing towards the darkness. Suna got up, not wanting to anger her further, and the two headed towards the abyss.

--

"What are you after?!" Hato yelled, holding one of the Shinobi in a headlock. The Shinobi said nothing. Hato, beginning to get frustrated whipped out a kunai. "Okay, Okay, I'll tell you!" The Shinobi said nervously; it was very clear to him that if he didn't talk, he would be enjoying a nice kunai inside of his wind pipe.

"That girl stole our…"

"HATO!" interrupted Shuuha. "The kids are gone!" he said throwing the lifeless Shinobi corpse he had just severed onto the floor. The body made a plop.

"Damn!" Hato cursed, in the heat of the battle, he had completely forgotten all about Suna. "Don't worry, he seems like he can handle himself." Said Kouen reassuringly. Hato looked down at Kouen's opponent; he looked at though he had been petrified to death. Hato began to sweat a bit, Shuuha and Kouen; these were two Shinobi that he would never wish to cross with.

"Well, the raid seems to have stopped so we better go find them." Hato said hastily. The three Shinobi disappeared in three quick flashes, taking along their hostage as well.

--

The sun began to rise, coloring the trees and ground a pale yellow.

"Dammit!" Scowled Kasumi. "The sun's already coming up!" She and Suna had finally stopped for a break, they were a few miles away from the forest, but now, they were wide open for attack. "Do you really think they would attack us in broad day light?" Suna asked. Kasumi's face darkened. "Shinobi like that will not hesitate to kill, if they get the chance, they will definitely do it."

Kasumi reached into her back and pulled out a canteen. "All that running…" She sighed, taking a large swig of water. She threw it to Suna. "T-Thanks." He said, fumbling it in his hands.

"So…" Suna started.

"What?" Kasumi asked. "Well, tell me about yourself, why do you want to go to the academy?" Suna asked, desperate to make conversation.

The wind blew slightly, causing there hair to sway back and forth.

"Well, A lot of reasons I guess, I mean, my whole family has gone there, all the generations of Nagoyaka's go there, its tradition." She explained. Suna sighed. "Yeah, okay, but, why do YOU want to go."

Kasumi stared at him. No one had ever asked her why. She didn't even really know herself. Her whole life she grew up in a household where you did what you were told, and that was it. There was no motivation as to why anyone did it.

"Well, ever since I was little, I've always kind have been in the shadow of my older sister Aimee. She was a great Kunoichi, who everyone looked up too, hell she was even one of the three Sonin, after Tsunade-sama, and Sakura-sama, that is."

"Wow, a Sonin…" Suna gasped in astonishment.

Kasumi looked slightly hurt. "Oh, but I mean, I'm sure you could become a Sonin too, I mean, if you really wanted to, I'm not saying, I mean…" Suna fumbled.

Kasumi giggled slightly. "It's alright, I'm used to it, it's not like I hate my sister, I'm just tired of being associated with her, I mean, I'm me, that's it, Kasumi Nagoyaka." She said.

"And for what it's worth, I think that Kasumi Nagoyaka-san is pretty great." Suna beamed, holding out his hand. Kasumi blushed slightly. "Well, I'm sure whatever you want to do in life, you'll succeed as well." She responded, shaking his hand as she did so.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what did you want to do anyways?" Kasumi asked suddenly.

Suna's smile broadened. "I want to follow in the footsteps of the great Hokage Naruto-sama, he had so many adventures and he was so strong, I admire everything that he does." Suna excitedly explained to her. "Well, I wish you the best of luck Atsui-kun." Kasumi said.

"Call me Suna."

"Right, then call me Kasumi."

--

Hato, Shuuha, and Kouen had finally stopped.

"So you Shinobi bastard, wanna explain why you raided our camping spot?" Shuuha snarled, holding up his monstrous scythe to the hostage's neck. The Shinobi desperately tried to swallow the large lump in his throat. "I have an easier and less violent way." Said Kouen, pushing Shuuha aside slightly. "Your call." Shuuha shrugged. Kouen placed his hand under the Shinobi's chin, lifting his head. The Shinobi stared into Kouen's snake like eyes as if he were completely transfixed.

The Shinobi's eyes lost there shine, and dulled into a pale gray color, he was indeed being hypnotized. "What was the reason for your attack on us?" Kouen asked soothingly.

The Shinobi's mouth opened slightly. His pupils became dilated, and instead of actual words coming out of his mouth, just soft grunts. "As I thought." Kouen said confidently. "It has been transfixed, so that the Shinobi's cannot speak a word of their secrets or their hidden agendas."

Hato stared in complete shock. "The leader sure is clever." He managed to spit out. "Most certainly, whoever we're dealing with is definitely no amateur." Shuuha added.

He raised his scythe in frustration. "Well then, he is no longer of any use to us." "WAIT!" Hato yelled. "Do you really need to kill him?" "Of course we do, if we let him go, he'll most certainly go to his master, and that won't be good for us."

"Unfortunately, this is an unavoidable situation." Kouen said apologetically. Hato stiffened a bit, watching as the corpse fell to the ground, like a doll, a bloody, lifeless doll.

--

"We should probably get going now." Suna suggested, seeing Kasumi getting comfortable. "What's the rush, the day of the entrance exams, isn't for a few more days." Kasumi said sluggishly. "That's hardly the point, besides we need to find my sensei and your travel buddies."

Kasumi sighed. "You're right, but doesn't it make more sense to stay in one place, that way it will be easier to find us." She asked sheepishly. Suna glared. "You're not taking a nap…Jeez; you're pretty lazy for a girl."

"And you're sure having a big hissy fit, for a boy." She said teasingly. Suna blushed slightly. "Fine, stay here, but I'm not taking any chances of getting caught by those Shinobi." He said sticking his tongue out childishly.

Suna's playful smile faded quickly. There behind him, was Nagoyaka-san, in a strangle hold by the two Shadow Shinobi. Somehow, in that split second when Suna had his back turned, the Shinobi had managed to sneak up and grab hold of Kasumi.

Suna shook rapidly, but it seemed as if the only thing that wouldn't move were his feet. Never had he been so scared in his life. Kasumi elbowed one of the Shinobi hard, but the other Shinobi grabbed her hair just as quickly. "Now, you little bitch, give it BACK!"


End file.
